The trade chatter around the NHL is already heating up, and a familiar name from the Avalanche orbit has surfaced again.
According to a recent The Athletic roundup that identified one under-the-radar trade candidate for every team, Ross Colton was the pick for the Nashville Predators.
“Colton could be the more under-the-radar pick for a team looking for middle-six utility from a player with clutch playoff experience. His cap hit is team friendly, and Nashville could sweeten the return by retaining half.”
That kind of appeal is exactly what made Colton interesting in the first place. The Avalanche had him last season, but didn’t move him until the offseason in what was clearly a cap-clearing decision.
Now with Nashville, the 30-year-old has opened this season with one goal and one assist in 10 games. Those numbers aren’t eye-catching on their own, but they fit into the bigger picture of a slow start for the Predators. The sense around the league is that if Nashville falls out of the playoff race early, the sell-off could start.
If that happens, Colton’s contract is the part that makes him stand out. He’s in the final year of the four-year deal he signed with the Avalanche in 2023, and his $4 million cap hit is relatively modest by NHL standards.
The Athletic’s note also made clear that Nashville could increase his value in a deal by holding back salary.
For Colorado, though, the takeaway was much simpler: there weren’t any obvious trade chips on the roster. Even with Artturi Lehkonen and Nic Roy listed as pending unrestricted free agents, The Athletic didn’t name an Avalanche trade candidate.
“The only pending unrestricted free agents on Colorado’s roster are Artturi Lehkonen and Nicolas Roy. It’s fair to wonder how (or if) they’ll fit long term, especially Lehkonen, but the Avs shouldn’t be in the business of trading more key pieces off a Cup-caliber roster. The closest answer might be Mackenzie Blackwood, but in-season goalie trades are difficult, and putting all those Cup aspirations on Scott Wedgewood’s shoulders would be unwise.”
The thought of moving Mackenzie Blackwood is enough to send Avalanche fans reaching for a paper bag. Short of a return on the level of Connor Hellebuyck - and that clearly isn’t on the table - there’s no real reason to go down that road.
If anything, Colorado needs to keep Blackwood and Wedgewood right where they are. The season is leaning heavily on what those two can do, and there’s no sense in tampering with a setup that’s working.
For now, the Avalanche look to be in solid shape. The bigger job is keeping that steady as the season keeps rolling.
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For Colorado, that matters because Hughes is no longer just a promising young player taking up space in the lineup. His development has become part of the bigger picture, especially with the way he handled himself in a 6-3 victory against a strong opponent. The Avalanche do not need him to be finished product overnight, but they do need signs that the learning curve is bending the right way, and Hughes has given them a reason to believe it is. [Read more 🡒]
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There is also a potential ripple effect beyond Toronto, with Nashville having already spoken to teams about Brady Skjei, a defenseman with a hefty contract and no trade protection. If the Predators keep engaging the market, and if the Leafs keep pushing for help on the blue line, Colorado fans could end up monitoring not just who gets moved, but which assets and prospects are attached to the deal. [Read more 🡒]
Megnas Return Gives Colorado A Boost Fans Will Notice
Jayson Megna gave the Colorado Eagles exactly the kind of lift a team notices right away, scoring twice in a 4-1 win over the Bakersfield Condors. His second goal stood as the game-winner, and Colorado leaned on a sharp special-teams night to keep control after building momentum early.
Ilya Nabokov did his part too, turning aside 34 of 35 shots to improve to 4-1-0, while the Eagles were effective on both the power play and the penalty kill. Bakersfield shuffled its crease from Connor Ungar to Nathan Day along the way, but Colorado kept pressing and left with a result that felt as solid as the performance behind it. [Read more 🡒]